Idaho Archery 2020 Elk Zone Selection - More elk & more people/Less elk & less people

[Eastman528]

I am currently am planning for and day dreaming of September and considering my options, I have pretty well had my mind made up sense last season and the planning never really stops. I just thought I would start a thread discussing in general some of the elk zone's in Idaho and weight the pro's and cons of choosing a zone that might have more elk and consequently more people or the opposite a zone or unit that may have lower elk density's but also has less pressure. I am a born and raised Idahoan and live in North Idaho which is where I have spent most of my time hunting and I have experienced both of these scenarios. I typically prefer the latter of less elk/less people which probably has allot to do with the fact that I have gotten used to it over the years. I have also hunted highly pressured units and been able to find elk and get away form people for the most part. I plan to change things up this year and head to south central, east central or possibly eastern Idaho this year. I am pretty set on a zone in central Idaho that I have spent some time in but I am just trying to keep an open mind and not be romantic about my plans. It seems the old mantra of just get away from the roads doesn't work like it used to with the increased popularity of back country hunting. I want to have realistic expectations about what kind of competition I will be encountering. I just thought it would be kind of interesting to see what everyone else's thought process is when considering these options. I intend for this to be a general discussion, if you want to talk more specifics please PM me and please lets not turn this into a pissing match between resident and non resident hunters! Given the current times we should just all be thankful we have public lands to enjoy and the ability to go elk hunting.

 

[kylem]

After hunting in pretty popular areas the last few years I am going to change it up this year and hunt some low density elk areas in hopes of finding some elk that haven't been hunted quite as hard. I am sure I will have a lot fewer encounters so I am hoping I will be able to take advantage of the hopefully more callable elk and capitalize what opportunities I have.

 

[elkocd]

After hunting in pretty popular areas the last few years I am going to change it up this year and hunt some low density elk areas in hopes of finding some elk that haven't been hunted quite as hard. I am sure I will have a lot fewer encounters so I am hoping I will be able to take advantage of the hopefully more callable elk and capitalize what opportunities I have.

I prefer to hunt out of the main elk population areas because I don't like hunting around people. But you will likely need to adjust your hunting style if so. Lower density of elk usually means "less" callable not more callable. High elk density and high bull/cow ratios is what usually makes the intensity of the rut and more bulls susceptible to calling. Think about it. Bulls are bugling, fighting and generally running around crazy because of competition. The less competition, the less they do those things and less often. Of course there are always time and pockets, but they are very sporadic. This is why I usually focus more on spotting elk in low density areas than I do on running around trying to find vocal bulls.

 

[Eastman528]

After hunting in pretty popular areas the last few years I am going to change it up this year and hunt some low density elk areas in hopes of finding some elk that haven't been hunted quite as hard. I am sure I will have a lot fewer encounters so I am hoping I will be able to take advantage of the hopefully more callable elk and capitalize what opportunities I have.

I hope it works out for you, I didn't have an archery tag last year but my wife did and I called for her. We hunted a popular unit and we were still able to find pockets away from people and get into elk but it is noticeable at times that the elk had been messed with. The problem I have had is allot of the lower density places I have hunted also coincidentally have higher wolf numbers and that can make calling and just hunting in general a challenge.

 

[Eastman528]

I prefer to hunt out of the main elk population areas because I don't like hunting around people. But you will likely need to adjust your hunting style if so. Lower density of elk usually means "less" callable not more callable. High elk density and high bull/cow ratios is what usually makes the intensity of the rut and more bulls susceptible to calling. Think about it. Bulls are bugling, fighting and generally running around crazy because of competition. The less competition, the less they do those things and less often. Of course there are always time and pockets, but they are very sporadic. This is why I usually focus more on spotting elk in low density areas than I do on running around trying to find vocal bulls.

I am the same way its part of the experience for me to get away and preferably not see other people aside from the aspect of it just being better to have less competition. What you are saying here makes allot of sense. I was able to scout the unit I plan to hunt this year and from what I saw there were really good bull to cow ratios and a good number of mature bulls. My hope was that this would result in the type of rut activity like you describe and that we all hope for. I just hope that I can find places where elk are being elk and get away from the crowds. It also helps when looking for a certain caliber of bull that you have a few more of them around to increase your odds.

 

[Fridaythe13th]

I dont mind the busy zone of Idaho. I just go early season and skip the 3rd week. Last year it did not work for the group to go the 1st 2 weeks so we went the 3rd (sept 15-25) never again.

 

[Eastman528]

I dont mind the busy zone of Idaho. I just go early season and skip the 3rd week. Last year it did not work for the group to go the 1st 2 weeks so we went the 3rd (sept 15-25) never again.

That is something I have been seriously considering. Particularly as a solo hunter I might be able to use some earlier season tactics to my advantage and hunt some of the more mature bulls before they establish their harems. Everyone wants to hunt that peak rut time and I’m no different but trying to keep my options open.

 

[elkocd]

I am the same way its part of the experience for me to get away and preferably not see other people aside from the aspect of it just being better to have less competition. What you are saying here makes allot of sense. I was able to scout the unit I plan to hunt this year and from what I saw there were really good bull to cow ratios and a good number of mature bulls. My hope was that this would result in the type of rut activity like you describe and that we all hope for. I just hope that I can find places where elk are being elk and get away from the crowds. It also helps when looking for a certain caliber of bull that you have a few more of them around to increase your odds.

Yes, that is the type of zone I target. Overall lower numbers, but also high B/C ratios. What I have found is the rutting activity is very much sporadic, but can be good in pockets at times. What you don't want is low numbers and low B/C ratios. Like near where I live in the Cascades(I don't hunt here).

When the elk numbers are lower even with good B/C ratios you really want to use your glass if you can to find the pockets of elk. Once you know where the elk are then zero in on them. Much different than hunting zones that have elk in most every basin.

I'd rather hunt a very few really good bulls all to myself than hunt a LOT of elk with a LOT of hunters pushing hem around. I will sometimes spend days just looking for a bull I want without every really "hunting" an elk. But once I can zero in on it/them it's game on without having to worry about someone else.

 

[ndbuck09]

you also have to consider that Idaho doesn't count elk in Zones and units every year so the data you could be looking at could be a handfull of years old and things can swing pretty good imho